Another school of thought is that kids are throwing too much while their bodies are still developing. With the emergence of select ball, travel squads, showcase tournaments, etc... baseball has turned into a year-round sport for many kids as young as 10-12 They don't get to rest, don't get to play other sports (working different muscle groups), and really don't get to be kids. Add in the idiocy of teaching kids under-16 to throw breaking balls, often improperly....
I'm extremely concerned about Springer. He's not striking out missing stuff off the plate or by being fooled...he misses very hitable pitches that are absolutely strikes even if he's not swinging. Discipline isn't the issue...he can take a walk and avoid swinging at bad pitches...it's the pitches he's missing that make me nervous.
He needs to learn to change his approach based on count. One of his k's last night was him swinging to break the ball in half when it was 1-2. Shorten the swing and make any contact. You don't have to hit a HR in every ab.
In all seriousness, you shouldn't be learning to FINALLY shorten your swing at the major league level.
Hmm... you mean the concern voiced by the GM, and the specified reason cited by the front office for keeping Springer down may actually be truthful?
If Jeff really let the pressure of dozens of fans sway his player development strategy than he isn't the genius I thought he was.
Excellent point - yeah, this certainly can't be helpful. Would be good to look at guys from 20-40 years ago and see their "development path" when they were younger compared to guys today.
I had a blogger who follows the minor leagues tell me this last year...that he has difficulty not with plate discipline really..but with swinging and missing actual strikes.
I don't have the time to follow minor league baseball like I did in my 20's in college and grad school, however, it sure seems like the Astros were being honest about why Springer wasn't called up sooner. I still stand by my opinion, he reminds me of Mike Cameron when it comes to his approach and talent.
He's going to have to do more in terms of better defense, utilizing his speed (he'll still get on base despite the K's), and the occ. pop. Getting a batting average in the .260's - .270's is not impossible either (despite the K's, he's still got the average to .230 and rising). I still disagree that "this" is why he was kept down... it entirely presumes that a.) more time in the minors was going to make him strikeout less (against inferior competition), and b.) more time in the minors was going to have him avoid the necessary adjustment period/noticeble competition level difference between minor league ball and the majors. It was a "convenient" excuse... but never the real reason (or else half the other players they've brought up with similar swing/miss stats, and even less production elsewhere, would/should have had more time in the minors as well). We've seen him get more comfortable in the OF the last couple of weeks... and its translated into some more productive AB's. He still K's a ton... agreed that its usually on "hittable" pitches. We knew this would happen... we just have to see more production elsewhere to withstand it. And if he ultimately sinks, or becomes nothing more than a faster/less powerful Adam Dunn, he is what he is... the organization can move on, be happy he didn't sign the guaranteed deal they offered without any MLB time, and go back to working on filling the plethora of holes on this MLB team. That being said, still likely too early to make conclusions one way or the other... lets see him get 150 AB's first.
Regardless of the unspoken reason, if it becomes a sticky point with the player's association, Luhnow's public remarks were to work on contact and work on fielding and these are his two biggest failures right now.
True... although he was never this "bad" of a fielder, and the mistakes he's making reek of jitters/nerves/trying too hard vs. basic fielding technique. (and he's looked better there as of late). I can only presume whatever is affecting him in the field is likely affecting him some at the plate as well... albeit he's still expected to strike out. (he's even looked nervous on the base paths). Agreed that they'll never be able to publicly state it... they're doing the same thing with Singleton now, although the only real "deficiency" they can state is that he was out most of last year, and didn't spend that much time at AAA (which is a valid point, but doesn't mean he wouldn't make this team better now... and he'll likely conveniently be called up right after the super-2 deadline passing).
I think the true conspiracy is those who believe its largely for reasons other than the arbitration clock. Like Springer was "magically" ready just after just 2-3 weeks of AAA this year... or that Cosart/Villar were ready around the exact estimated moment of passage of the super 2 deadline. Sure, there' always going to be "other" reasons... the bottom line is that some of these guys would make the MLB team better than what they have out there now, and are kept down with salary clock in mind, in addition to those other reasons.
Did Crane or that Ryan boy make a statement before the season that we were going to see major improvement from the team this season? It seems like I remember something like that.
The Astros' use of Super-2 is no different than most teams. Trout and Harper come to mind a couple of years ago. Wil Myers last year - on a contending team that could have affected their playoff chances. A whole slew of players this year will likely do the same - Polanco, Baez, Singleton, etc. This is neither unique nor unexpected - it's how the rules are designed and every team tries to use club-controlled years and arbitration to their advantage. The point regarding Springer is that he wasn't wasting away in the minors with no purpose. He had things to work on, and he's demonstrating that now. It's easier working on refining your swing and making contact when you're facing easier pitching and don't have the pressure of the major leagues to worry about. I have no idea if he made any effort to do those things in his extra minor league time, but if he did, then maybe if he came up last year, he'd have been even more confused and struggled longer.
Look..things like shortening your swing with 2 strikes don't have to be tested or worked on at the major league level. Arguably, when you're as bad at it as Springer is, you shouldn't be testing it at the major league level. Inability to hit strikes right down the plate because you refuse not to come out of your shoes every time you swing the mother falcon bat is crazy.
